“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” - Henry Ford
When was the last time you reviewed one of your failures productively? We often forget that life includes peaks AND valleys. On every journey, there is usually a rise before a fall and visa versa.
So how can you learn to “roll with the punches” in your life and catch a stride in-between your destinations? Here is the method I use to extract the value from my failures:
The formula looks a lot like…
Gratitude + Awareness x Service = Perspective
Think of it as a recipe.
Gratitude
At the moment I am tempted to feel sorry for myself or blame someone else, I immediately focus on what I have to be thankful for. On really bad days, I start with being grateful that I woke up. To me that means I have another opportunity to get (or keep) my life on track. Focusing on that also shifts my focus to what is in my control.
Awareness
I make sure I am aware of what role I’m playing in the things that are happening in my life. Being accountable is a sure way to maintain your sanity when things are falling down around you. It’s like knowing what mess is yours and what mess isn’t.
Service
Helping others, is something that will always give you an opportunity to see that other humans are trying to figure it out too. Especially when you help someone who can’t help you back. That’s when you get to see that even with what little you think you have, it’s enough. Sometimes “failure” convinces us otherwise.
Perspective
Which leads me to perspective. If you have a healthy amount of the above ingredients, you’ll start to see life with different eyes. The biggest lie that failure tells us is that we aren’t capable or we aren’t enough. False evidence appearing real. Your job is to stay focused, get better as a person everyday and make better choices.
Be careful not to miss the growth in your failures. For all of us, life comes with wins and losses. Either or, it’s less about what happens and more about how you respond to them both. That’s what will set the tone for your life and how you feel about living it.
Keep going…
-WYZE
